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The region was first populated when Northlander longships reached the area during the last centuries of the Illefarn empire. Initially settling on the islands, the northlanders would eventually settle Icewind Dale.[citation needed]

Icewind Dale was an icy tundra and the northernmost explored area of Faerûn. Its only permanent settlements were known as Ten-Towns, a confederation of a number of minor settlements cooperating with each other.[2] On the northern face of Kelvin's Cairn, the only mountain in the region, a cave where Drizzt Do'Urden resided for some time as a ranger and protector of Ten-Towns.[citation needed] Three lakes, whose temperature even in the summer months is cold enough to kill a man, are the only known places to find the Knucklehead trout, a fish whose bones are almost exactly like ivory.[citation needed]

The region was mainly populated by fishermen, craftsmen, rangers, dwarves mining the deeps for minerals and precious stones, barbarians, and merchants who tolerate the hostile climate in the hope of trading in ivory and gems.[2] The region was home to a number of white dragons.[3]